The invention relates to a children's play container for transportation vehicles, in particular for passenger aircraft and the arrangement of a children's play container in a passenger aircraft.
In passenger aircraft it is especially problematical to occupy children without disturbing the other passengers in the passenger cabin. A particular problem is posed by small children between the age of 2 to 6 years since their natural instinct to play and move about cannot be satisfied within the restricting conditions of the conventional layout of present day cabins. Children are meant to sit quietly in the passenger seats and make use of toys such as colored pencils and drawing books, puzzle books, comics or be entertained by children's videos or audio cassettes. This does not accommodate the movement impulse of small children and the aisle of the plane is misused as a play area, thereby encumbering passage for other passengers or flight personnel. The present day cabin layout of one to two narrow longitudinal aisles and seat rows arranged in close succession means that passenger capacity is maximized, but no movement possibility whatsoever is offered for children outside the confines of the seat. Airline companies are well aware of this problem and first attempts to find a solution are known. In the magazine “Zeitschrift für Gestaltung”, edition 4/1996, page 46, 47 under the heading “Das fliegende Kinderzimmer” (“The flying playroom”), a possible solution is presented in which a children's play area is shown in an airliner. The suggestion implies that such a facility may be established in the freight area below the cabin, from where access is provided, by transforming a standard freight container accordingly. The idea therein is that such a special children's play area be used by children to let off steam and to play as well as to rest. It is obvious from this solution that the children cannot be supervised by their parents, who are in the cabin above. A supervisor would probably have to be present below in the freight room. A further disadvantage of the proposed solution is that freight capacity is forfeited for pay load and that headroom is significantly limited for adults.